NIGERIA. Niger State: Concerned over the loss of businesses and cooperatives due to lack of leadership and mismanagement, sixty farmers received training on business management, leadership and team building in Niger State, Nigeria.
The importance of implementing a training programme for farmers in Edati area
The programme Value Chain Development Programme ( IFAD-VCDP) and the Federal Government saw the necessity of implementing a training programme for farmers in Niger State. Therefore, they decided to hold a training event on Monday 2. Nov.
In an interview after the event, the Business and Marketing Development Officer (VCDP) Mrs Elizabeth Yisa told Transcontinental Times the sixty people who were part of the programme included rice and cassava farmers, processors, producers, and marketers.
Mrs Yisa expressed her dismay with the continuous loss that farmers experience in the state. She added that a lot of farmers could not take care of themselves properly or even get the necessary resources for the following season due to a lack of funds which is caused by mismanagement.
She also pointed out that a lot of cooperatives folded up due to a lack of leadership and teamwork. According to her, this is because adequate skills are not given to the farmers and processors. She said, “We noticed a gap in the style of leadership in the cooperatives operated by farmers and processors because a lot of them are leaders of these cooperatives and do not know their functions.”
She added, “As a leader, there is need for them to carry others and work as a team; that is why they require this kind of training to open their eyes to see their responsibilities and make them move forward.”
What the farmers were taught
The programme taught farmers how to keep their farming businesses alive by working hard while ensuring there is no mismanagement of the resources they already have. What’s more, farmers were encouraged to take farming as a business and not only an activity that includes planting and harvesting crops.
The training programme also offered farmers leadership and teamwork skills. Concerning this area, Mrs Yisa said that the leadership aspect of the training is to enable them to know their responsibilities when they form cooperatives and to carry the team along.
The facilitator
The Facilitator, Julius Garma, who took the participants on the modules of training, stated that in cooperatives, there are particular skills a leader needs to know that will enable them to pilot the affairs of the cooperatives.
Garma who spoke to Transcontinental Times added that leadership is necessary for associations. He said, “Leadership is necessary for associations. The farmers need to know how to solve leadership problems without disorganising the association. This training will go a long way to help them understand the importance of leadership and team building.”
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